Study Finds The Way You Hang Your Toilet Paper Reveals A Lot About Your Personality

It’s an old question and argument in many households: which is the correct way to hang toilet paper . . . over or under? Ridiculous, right? I know in my house we’ve gone a couple of rounds on why toilet paper has to be hung a certain way. Now a survey conducted by a relationship and personality expert reveals that how we prefer to hang said TP determines a lot about us.

The Toilet Paper Personality Test tells you what your toilet paper preference says about you. I know, it seems pretty far-fetched. But as creator Dr. Gilda Carle explained to The Independent’s Indy 100 site, the test is meant to be a “fun way to assess the behaviors [people do] daily, often without thinking,” and, well… you’d be surprised what you can learn about yourself just by paying attention to your seemingly tiny quirks and habits.

Dr. Gilda Carle surveyed 2,000 people and discovered those who “roll over” are more likely to have a dominant personality type. People who have dominant personalities are often characterized by their take-charge, can-do, assertive nature; they also often fill leadership roles.

So how about those who “roll under?” Well they tend to be more relaxed, more dependable, and “seek relationships with strong foundations.” They are more likely to be submissive. Common traits found in people who have submissive personality types include being easy-going, patient, flexible, and empathetic.

But wait, there’s more!

What if you fall into the “I don’t care category?” Well these fine folks don’t care for conflict, appreciate flexibility (hence over or under whatever the mood calls for) and enjoy new situations.

Who knew that the “toilet paper over-under” debate was so crucial that there have actually been several surveys.

Another survey found a connection between income and how you hang your toilet paper. This survey found nearly 75% of people who make under $20,000 a year roll under, while nearly 66% of people who earn $50,000 a year roll over. Unfortunately, switching how you roll your toilet paper won’t magically increase your salary – the finding only shows correlation, not causation. Dang it.

So what have we learned here today? While I don’t think the direction of your toilet paper necessarily offers an in-depth analysis of who you are as a person, I think studies like this serve as great reminders that our daily actions and habits say something about us as people, and that our actions are basically an extension of who we are on the inside.

In this sense, I think it’s always worthwhile to step back and dig a little deeper into what routines you fall into, and what these actions may be revealing about something deeper in your psychology.